Question 1

In job enrichment, ________ is the degree to which a job allows a worker to complete a whole or identifiable piece of work.

Accepted Answer

Task identity refers to the degree to which a job allows a worker to complete a whole or identifiable piece of work. Skill variety refers to the range of different activities that a worker performs in a job. Task significance refers to the degree to which a job affects the lives or work of other people. Autonomy refers to the degree to which a job allows a worker to have control and discretion over their work.

Question 2

Mini-Case 17-4: Plumbers Don't Want Recognition
"If I ever went out to those guys and asked them if they wanted a little more recognition, they would laugh me out of the shop. People work for money." Norm Schultz had been a plumber himself for 18 years before he saved enough money to open a small plumbing contractor business. The men who worked for Norm knew what was expected of them - a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. "You don't need to tell a person that he or she is doing a good job; the person is either doing the work or not working for me!"
Norm's son-in-law was taking a management course at a local college. When Norm asked him what he was learning in class, he told him the management of people. Norm was very emphatic about managing the plumbers who worked for him. "Tell an employee what you expect from the beginning. Watch to see if they perform the job properly. Treat your people fairly and never cheat them." Norm went on to tell his son-in-law that this was the way good managers did things. "Recognition won't put bread on the table."
-Which of the following statements about a company's culture is false?

Accepted Answer

As a company grows larger, its culture is likely to change and evolve over time, as new employees bring in different beliefs and values. Therefore, statement B is false.

Question 3

In job enrichment, ________ is the degree to which a job substantially influences the lives or work of others (employees or final customers).

Accepted Answer

Task significance refers to the impact or importance of a job on the lives of others. It is one of the five core characteristics of job enrichment identified by Herzberg, along with skill variety, task identity, autonomy, and feedback. When a job has high task significance, employees are more likely to feel a sense of purpose and meaning in their work, which can lead to greater motivation and job satisfaction.

Question 4

Mini-Case 17-4: Plumbers Don't Want Recognition
"If I ever went out to those guys and asked them if they wanted a little more recognition, they would laugh me out of the shop. People work for money." Norm Schultz had been a plumber himself for 18 years before he saved enough money to open a small plumbing contractor business. The men who worked for Norm knew what was expected of them - a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. "You don't need to tell a person that he or she is doing a good job; the person is either doing the work or not working for me!"
Norm's son-in-law was taking a management course at a local college. When Norm asked him what he was learning in class, he told him the management of people. Norm was very emphatic about managing the plumbers who worked for him. "Tell an employee what you expect from the beginning. Watch to see if they perform the job properly. Treat your people fairly and never cheat them." Norm went on to tell his son-in-law that this was the way good managers did things. "Recognition won't put bread on the table."
-The classic auto assembly line is based on which job design principle?

Accepted Answer

The passage does not provide information about job enrichment or job rotation, but it does mention job simplification as a principle followed by Norm Schultz in managing his employees.

Question 5

An arrangement under which employees work a normal number of hours with options regarding when they start and stop work is ________.

Accepted Answer

Flextime is an arrangement that allows employees to have flexible work hours, meaning they can choose when to start and stop work within certain parameters set by the employer. This arrangement can be beneficial for both employers and employees, as it allows for better work-life balance and increased productivity. Hoteling refers to the practice of providing employees with temporary workspaces as needed, job sharing involves two or more employees splitting the responsibilities of a single job, and flexspace refers to flexible office space arrangements.

Question 6

The type of job design that involves building motivators into a job by increasing the planning, decision-making, organizing, and controlling functions workers perform is ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The type of job design that involves...

Question 7

A compensation system in which employees' pay depends on how well they perform their jobs is known as ________.

Accepted Answer

A pay-for-performance compensation system rewards employees based on their performance and achievements on the job, motivating them to work harder and achieve better results. Profit-sharing plans distribute a portion of the company's profits to all employees, regardless of their individual contributions. Open book management involves actively sharing financial information with employees to help them understand the company's performance and goals. A commission compensation plan provides employees with a percentage of each sale they make, which is not necessarily tied to their overall job performance.

Question 8

Mini-Case 17-4: Plumbers Don't Want Recognition
"If I ever went out to those guys and asked them if they wanted a little more recognition, they would laugh me out of the shop. People work for money." Norm Schultz had been a plumber himself for 18 years before he saved enough money to open a small plumbing contractor business. The men who worked for Norm knew what was expected of them - a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. "You don't need to tell a person that he or she is doing a good job; the person is either doing the work or not working for me!"
Norm's son-in-law was taking a management course at a local college. When Norm asked him what he was learning in class, he told him the management of people. Norm was very emphatic about managing the plumbers who worked for him. "Tell an employee what you expect from the beginning. Watch to see if they perform the job properly. Treat your people fairly and never cheat them." Norm went on to tell his son-in-law that this was the way good managers did things. "Recognition won't put bread on the table."
-The advantages of job rotation include ________.

Accepted Answer

Job rotation involves moving employees through different jobs and tasks, which provides them with the ability to move from one job to others, a greater number and variety of tasks, and additional flexibility for the company. Therefore, all of the above options are advantages of job rotation. However, this question does not relate to the given case study about plumbers and recognition.

Question 9

Arturo, a sales representative for a small manufacturer, works out of an office in his home, using his laptop computer, a fax machine, and a beeper to communicate with the home office, which is located in a city 58 miles away. Arturo actually goes to the main office, on average, once every 10 to 14 days. His company is using which work arrangement?

Accepted Answer

Arturo's work arrangement involves working from home using technology to communicate with the main office, which is located far away. This is known as flexplace, which allows employees to work from different locations outside of the office. Job sharing involves two or more employees sharing the same job, flextime allows employees to choose their own work schedules, and job enrichment involves giving employees more challenging and fulfilling tasks within their current role.

Question 10

Mini-Case 17-4: Plumbers Don't Want Recognition
"If I ever went out to those guys and asked them if they wanted a little more recognition, they would laugh me out of the shop. People work for money." Norm Schultz had been a plumber himself for 18 years before he saved enough money to open a small plumbing contractor business. The men who worked for Norm knew what was expected of them - a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. "You don't need to tell a person that he or she is doing a good job; the person is either doing the work or not working for me!"
Norm's son-in-law was taking a management course at a local college. When Norm asked him what he was learning in class, he told him the management of people. Norm was very emphatic about managing the plumbers who worked for him. "Tell an employee what you expect from the beginning. Watch to see if they perform the job properly. Treat your people fairly and never cheat them." Norm went on to tell his son-in-law that this was the way good managers did things. "Recognition won't put bread on the table."
-Successful organizational culture supports exceptional performance and is compatible with the firm's stated values and beliefs. Which of the following best illustrates this concept?

Accepted Answer

Option D includes all of the elements of a successful organizational culture - honesty and integrity, diversity, respect for work and life balance, a sense of purpose and a sense of fun, and participative management in a learning environment. Norm Schultz's management style may not prioritize recognition, but it does align with the values of fairness and transparency, which are compatible with a successful organizational culture.

Question 11

Maria is excited about the new opportunity her company has offered her - she will be able to work from her home office with a company computer and a high-speed Internet connection while she spends time with her newborn son. This is possible because of the implementation of ________.

Accepted Answer

Telecommuting allows employees to work remotely from a home office or other location, often enabled by technology such as high-speed internet and company-provided computers. Maria's ability to work from home with company resources suggests that telecommuting is the implemented option. Hoteling refers to the practice of providing temporary workspaces for employees who do not have a designated office or desk, while job sharing involves two or more employees sharing the responsibilities of a single full-time position. Job rotation involves temporarily placing employees in different roles or departments to gain new experiences and skills. None of these options seem as fitting for Maria's situation as telecommuting.

Question 12

The type of job design that adds more tasks to a job to broaden its scope is known as ________.

Accepted Answer

Job enlargement is a job design strategy that involves adding more tasks to a job to broaden its scope. Horizontal job loading, also known as job enrichment, is a job design strategy that adds more responsibility, autonomy, and decision-making authority to a job to make it more challenging and rewarding. Both job enlargement and horizontal job loading can be used to enhance employee motivation and job satisfaction.

Question 13

The job ________ design strategy involves building motivators into a job by increasing the planning, decision-making, organizing, and controlling functions workers perform.

Accepted Answer

Job enrichment involves increasing the level of responsibility, autonomy, and control for employees. This can be done by adding tasks that require planning, decision-making, organizing, and controlling. This helps to build motivators into the job and provide employees with a sense of achievement and fulfillment. Options A and B involve reducing or increasing the number of tasks, respectively, but do not necessarily involve building motivators into the job. Option D, job rotation, involves moving employees between different positions, but does not necessarily involve increasing the level of responsibility or decision-making.

Question 14

In job enrichment, ________ is the degree to which a job gives a worker the freedom, independence, and discretion in planning and performing tasks.

Accepted Answer

Autonomy is the degree of independence and freedom that an employee has in carrying out their job responsibilities. Job enrichment seeks to increase employee satisfaction and motivation by giving workers more autonomy and control over their work. Autonomy can increase job satisfaction, as it allows employees to take initiative, be creative, and exercise their judgment in their work.

Question 15

The job ________ design strategy involves cross-training workers so they can move from one job in the company to others, giving them a greater number and variety of tasks to perform.

Accepted Answer

The job rotation strategy involves cross-training workers so they can move from one job in the company to others, giving them a greater number and variety of tasks to perform. Option A, simplification, involves reducing the number of tasks involved in a job to simplify it. Option B, enlargement, involves adding more tasks to a job to increase the scope of its responsibilities. Option C, enrichment, involves adding tasks that require more skill and responsibility to a job to make it more challenging and engaging.

Question 16

Mini-Case 17-4: Plumbers Don't Want Recognition
"If I ever went out to those guys and asked them if they wanted a little more recognition, they would laugh me out of the shop. People work for money." Norm Schultz had been a plumber himself for 18 years before he saved enough money to open a small plumbing contractor business. The men who worked for Norm knew what was expected of them - a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. "You don't need to tell a person that he or she is doing a good job; the person is either doing the work or not working for me!"
Norm's son-in-law was taking a management course at a local college. When Norm asked him what he was learning in class, he told him the management of people. Norm was very emphatic about managing the plumbers who worked for him. "Tell an employee what you expect from the beginning. Watch to see if they perform the job properly. Treat your people fairly and never cheat them." Norm went on to tell his son-in-law that this was the way good managers did things. "Recognition won't put bread on the table."
-The job ________ design strategy adds more tasks to a job to broaden its scope.

Accepted Answer

Job enlargement involves adding more tasks to a job to increase its scope and variety, which is the strategy described in the question.

Question 17

Mini-Case 17-4: Plumbers Don't Want Recognition
"If I ever went out to those guys and asked them if they wanted a little more recognition, they would laugh me out of the shop. People work for money." Norm Schultz had been a plumber himself for 18 years before he saved enough money to open a small plumbing contractor business. The men who worked for Norm knew what was expected of them - a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. "You don't need to tell a person that he or she is doing a good job; the person is either doing the work or not working for me!"
Norm's son-in-law was taking a management course at a local college. When Norm asked him what he was learning in class, he told him the management of people. Norm was very emphatic about managing the plumbers who worked for him. "Tell an employee what you expect from the beginning. Watch to see if they perform the job properly. Treat your people fairly and never cheat them." Norm went on to tell his son-in-law that this was the way good managers did things. "Recognition won't put bread on the table."
-The type of job design that breaks work down into its simplest form and standardizes tasks is known as ________.

Accepted Answer

The type of job design described in the passage is job simplification, where work is broken down into its simplest form and tasks are standardized.

Question 18

In job enrichment, ________ is the degree to which a job requires a variety of different skills, talents, and activities from the worker.

Accepted Answer

Skill variety refers to the degree to which a job requires a variety of different skills, talents, and activities from the worker. Job enrichment focuses on increasing the complexity and challenge of a job to make it more satisfying and motivating for the employee. Therefore, increasing skill variety is one way to achieve this goal. Task identity refers to the degree to which a job involves a complete, identifiable piece of work, while task significance refers to the degree to which a job has a significant impact on others or society. Autonomy refers to the degree to which a job provides the worker with the freedom to make decisions and act independently. While all of these factors are important for job enrichment, skill variety is specifically related to the variety of skills and activities required by the job.

Question 19

In job enrichment, ________ is the degree to which a job gives the worker direct, timely information about the quality of her/his performance.

Accepted Answer

Feedback is the degree to which a job gives the worker direct, timely information about the quality of his/her performance. Task identity refers to the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work. Task significance refers to the degree to which a job has a substantial impact on others within the organization or outside the organization. Autonomy refers to the degree to which a job provides the worker with freedom, independence, and discretion to plan and carry out the tasks.

Question 20

Cora arrived at work at 7 a.m. today, and she will get off at 4 p.m. so that she can watch her son's soccer game. Her office mate, Emma, is not a "morning person" and usually arrives at the office at 10 a.m. and gets off at 7 p.m. Their company uses ________.

Accepted Answer

The company uses flextime as it allows employees to have flexible schedules and adjust their work hours. Cora is able to leave early to attend her son's soccer game, while Emma starts later in the morning and works later into the evening. Job sharing involves two employees sharing the responsibilities of one full-time job, flexplace allows employees to work from home or other remote locations, and job enrichment involves adding new responsibilities or tasks to an employee's job to increase job satisfaction.

Quiz 17: Building a New Venture Team and Planning for the Next Generation